Fact of the day

Information is the most powerful weapon.

Monday

Fact N°
1564

Modern automobile cruise control was invented by a blind man.

Despite being blind since childhood, Ralph Teetor was an automotive pioneer whose contributions to the auto industry led him to being installed as President of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1936. He is credited with inventing cruise control in 1945 after an annoying car ride with his lawyer. The feature first appeared in the Chrysler Imperial in 1958.
The notion of independent speed maintenance itself had been around since the early days of the steam engine.

Tuesday

Fact N°
1565

In 2006, London mourners held a funeral service for the air guitar.

That year, a publicity stunt for the release of Guitar Hero II on the PlayStation was held at an actual East London funeral parlor. A guitar-shaped coffin stood in for the air guitar, which was ritually cremated. The 80 or so "mourners" amounted to the largest funeral attendance for a fictional object, according to the 2008 Guinness Book of World Records Gamer Edition.

Wednesday

Fact N°
1555

According to one estimate, 40% of people registered on singles dating websites are married.

This figure was quoted in an article in the Daily Mail by the owner and operator of a web site in the UK that caters to married men and women looking for no-strings sexual encounters. The site owner claims over 10,000 registered members, and he, along with another similar UK web site, claim that since the recession began, their businesses are booming, having increased by as much as 25%.

Thursday

Fact N°
1556

Four U.S. presidents have been the subject of civil lawsuits involving incidents that took place before they took office.

Paula Jones' lawsuit against President Clinton back in 1997 (which reached the Supreme Court in Clinton v Jones) was only the latest. In 1960 during the presidential campaign, JFK settled a lawsuit out of court involving a car accident, while presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Harry Truman both faced lawsuits as well, although both of theirs were dismissed.

Friday

Fact N°
1557

In 1955, the wealthiest Americans paid income taxes of over 50%.

According to a report titled "Tax Day 2009" by the Institute for Policy Studies, changes in tax law and policy since 1955 have greatly benefited the super-rich. In 1955 the 400 wealthiest Americans averaged annual incomes of around $12 million (in 2006 dollars). They paid an astonishing 51.2% of that income in taxes. In 2006, the top 400 earned on average $263 million but only paid 17.2% in taxes.

Saturday

Fact N°
1558

The Anaheim Ducks own the best overtime winning percentage in NHL playoff history.

The Ducks have only played in 19 overtime playoff games in their franchise's history, but they've won 14 of them, or 74%. The New York Islanders are a close second, winning 29 of 40 (73%). Not surprisingly, the Montreal Canadiens have played in the most OT playoff games -- 131, having won 73 of them. The San Jose Sharks have had the least amount of overtime luck, winning just 6 of 20 (30%).

Sunday

Fact N°
1559

Statistically, teams behind 2-0 in a best-of-seven NHL playoff series have about a 1 in 10 chance to win it.

It's never good to drop the first two games of a best-of-seven playoff series, and if this weren't obvious enough, the stats
bear it out: Since 1942, 291 teams have lost the first two games of a series and only 37 (12.7%) have come back to win the series. What's remarkable is that 20 of those teams won the series in six games. Coming from behind like that has only happened 3 times in the Stanley Cup Finals: Toronto did it in 1942, and Montreal did it twice, in 1966 and 1971.